Today, I want to share something fun and summery - just the kind of recipe we all could use in our repertoire - an easy, scrumptious dish to feed a family, which can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd. When we first made this Chez Panisse slow cooked salmon recipe a decade or two ago, I was wowed by its simplicity and honestly, I can't believe it has taken me this long to share it here. Extremely low heat and gentle moisture (provided by a little pan of water at the bottom of the oven) make for the most tender and succulent fish imaginable!

The heavenly Meyer lemon relish also comes from Chez Panisse - it's fresh, tangy, and slightly sweet thanks to the the natural sugars in Meyer lemons. I think the relish would be great with all sorts of seafood and its bright flavors make it a perfect companion to the buttery rich slow cooked salmon.

It's hard for me to believe we're deep into July already. I turned in my manuscript
last month (woo-hoo!) and I have to admit, I've felt spent. I put
every droplet of creative juice and inspiration into the book. When I
finished I was totally euphoric, but quickly I crashed - my creative
well felt fully tapped. So, mostly I've let
myself be slow and lazy these past few weeks: I've slept a lot and
savored quiet time with friends, family, P, and the kiddos.

After
being away and having some serious downtime, I'm itching to get back to
the kitchen and cook again with all of you. I've missed you guys!!

1/4 cup olive oil (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but 1/4 cup seems like more than enough to me)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Place a baking dish filled half way with water on the lowest rack of your oven, making for a nice moist environment for the salmon to cook.

Lay the intact salmon fillet on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush the salmon with a little more olive oil. Salt generously and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Transfer salmon to the warm oven. It should take between 45 minutes to 1 hour for the salmon to cook, depending on the size and thickness of your fillet. You can tell the salmon is done when the fish feels just firm to the touch and the juices are starting to break through the surface. Alice says you can serve the salmon right away or let it rest for up to 3 hours before serving. (Doesn't that sound helpful for a dinner party you want to prep in advance?)

While the salmon is cooking, make your Meyer lemon relish: first, in a small bowl, macerate shallot for 10-15 minutes in vinegar or lemon juice with a pinch of sea salt. Next, (leaving the skin on) cut lemon into 8 wedges. Remove seeds and cut out the core. Cut wedges in half again and slice very thin. Add the slivers of lemon to the macerated shallots. Add olive oil and parsley. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

When you're ready to eat, use your hands to break the salmon into chunks and serve with the Meyer lemon relish. YUM!

So happy you turned in your manuscript! I'm sure it will be a lovely addition to my cookbook collection :) Sounds like you are enjoying your time off - good for you. And this salmon! Adding it to my must-make list right now.

Ohmygosh. Salmon has really been on mind lately, but fish isn't usually my thing –– I'm always petrified I'll overcook a beautiful fillet. And then here's your beautiful recipe to the rescue! And Meyer lemon? Too much. I will have to hunt some down stat. Thanks for sharing, and after you've recovered from the book writing, I can't wait to see what else you have in store here.

Elizabeth - sounds like this recipe is made for you. That low oven has the fish cook nice and slow and oh man is it moist! And that Meyer lemon relish is killer. I'm craving some right now.And thanks for encouragement about my book. I'm feeling the creative juices coming back and I'm looking forward to doing a lot of cooking here soon. I've got some goodies to share soon:)xo to you and your family,E

Congratulations on your manuscript! And how gorgeous does this salmon look? I've never tried this method of cooking but it looks beautifully moist. Now to find some meyer lemons...they're impossible to get hold of in the UK as far as I can tell!

Bright and fresh is right. Even that little hint of vinegar in the relish gives such zing! Thank you Alice Waters!And thank you for the sweet words about my manuscript and book. They mean so much to me.xoxoE

Congratulation for turning in you manuscript. I am looking forward to see you book in the book stores. How exciting is this?This recipe is right down my alley and I am going to try it very soon.Thanks for sharingEva

Thanks Eva! I am pretty much beside myself with excitement. When I finally put all of the recipes and photos I've been working on for years into the manuscript, it finally felt real. The book is really a book!And I'm glad you like the recipe - let me know how it goes for you.xoE

I am so jealous everyone gets to use citrus.. (I am allergic) so I am going to try this with something else like mangos or something. Sounds elegant and delicious. I bet it plates beautifully. I will keep an eyeball out for your book, I am so excited for you. You always have something interesting going on.

Oli, I have to tell you that I think of you every time I post a recipe with citrus (because I remember that you are allergic). I love the citrus and always feel bad to share something that you can't have. But I'm glad you are into trying the salmon - it really is so easy and delish!Hope you are well,xoE

This used to be one of my favorite go to dishes for a dinner party. I haven't done it in awhile. Thanks for the reminder. Congrats on finishing the book. I can't wait to see the final product Erin. Your stories and pictures are always so inspiring.

Jennifer, so nice to hear from you! I'm glad to remind you of this great recipe. We hadn't made it in a while either. We recently had delectable salmon at Sir and Star and the texture/moistness so reminded me of this Chez Panisse recipe. I'm happy to have it back in rotation at our house too!Hope you and your family are well. xoxo E

What a lovely technique to prepare salmon, I really should give this slow cooking a try. Chez Panisse is one of those restaurants I would love to visit. Can't wait to visit California again...! Hope you're well and enjoying a wonderful summer, Erin!

Denise, you would love Chez Panisse! It makes me deeply happy every time I get the chance to eat there... and I'm always trying to think of an excuse to go;)All well here and I hope so with you as well,E

What a stunning salmon dish and so loving the relish. I am a sucker for a great condiment. Really looking forward to seeing the finish product, which I am sure will be a beautiful cookbook. Hope you are enjoying your summer and able to get a bit of R&R in now. Smile.

Incredibly good looking, this meal. I have been using my oven lately, but to my own detriment, as it pumps my cabin up to something like 95 degrees. So evenings are.... sticky. I'm not sure if I could keep the oven on this long, but I'd sure like to try.

If not, maybe I'll just try this relish on a bagel with some cream cheese and smoked salmon - ooh yeah, that sounds excellent, and nowhere close to 95 degrees:D

Emma, I hear you... I was just in NY and it was BLAZING. Maybe when the weather cools, you can give this one a try. In the meantime, I love your bagel, cream cheese, salmon and meyer lemon relish idea - right on!xoxoE

I have a feeling this technique of cooking fish will become a favourite, thanks! What would you suggest using instead of Meyer Lemons (if anything) as we can't get them in England? Nice plate by the way!

Nice answers to the question about the issues covered in your topic, with real arguments and explaining all about that. I'll be glad to share this post to my friends on Facebook and Twitter. Continue to keep us updated with your stories. Thanks!

Fill a baking dish with an inch or so of water and place it on the lowest rack of your oven. The water in this pan slowly evaporates in the heat making the oven moist - slightly steamy. Cook the salmon on a separate baking sheet on a higher rack in the oven. The salmon never comes into direct contact with the water.I hope this helps:)

I've never liked salmon very much, it's got a strong flavor that inevitably gets stronger as I always manage to overcook it. I tried this method after finding it on pinterest (SUCH a pretty photo) and now I'm a believer. Salmon can be awesome. Thank you :) www.sweetsaltytart.com

Hi Erin, I finally tried this recipe and it turned out amazingly (aside from the fact that I overcooked the salmon a smidge (I didn't realize until after how thin one piece was compared to the other - could not get 1 full filet and had to get 2 separate pieces) but the relish more than made up for it! Thank you again for yet another delicious recipe (+ beautiful images). Lynda

This is a wonderful dish! We have had it with some quinoa pilaf and a mixed salad and I cannot get over how good this relish is on a piiece of fish. I used Arctic char instead of the salmon- believe me it was fantastic! After 40 minutes the fish was moist and just right. Thank you for this recipe, it will certainly stay in " excellent" file.

This Meyer lemon relish looks like it will taste good with salmon. I like that this recipe calls for minced shallots and chopped parsley with lemon, pepper, and olive oil. All of those ingredients mixed together with lemon juice would help to enhance the flavors in cooked salmon.http://www.alaskanturtle.com/services

I just stumbled upon your blog and found this recipe yesterday. We tried it last night with our salmon from a recent fishing trip to Alaska. Thank you for sharing this method. It is a new favorite for salmon! I only see meyer lemons in my area once or twice a year so I'll be holding on to that recipe for one of those rare occasions. Now the beautiful leftover salmon will be going in an omelet for breakfast. Yum!